Communications Team

Purpose

The Communications Team is charged by the Board of Directors with the effective communication of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem’s UU traditions, values and activities within the congregation and to the surrounding community in order to foster our church’s overall mission.

The Communications Team works cooperatively with the Board, minister, staff and teams/committees to reach these ends.

Would you like to help? Click on the image to the left. Our brochure outlines the skills desired, and the roles to be filled on the Communications Team. Volunteering for just a few hours a month would be a big contribution.

We operate under the following policies:

Requests for publication of articles and publicity for events can be handled through the Publication Request form. In drafting your column for the newsletter please do not use “enter/return” to go to the next line. That makes each line a new paragraph, which we must undo when editing your draft. Instead, keep typing until your computer automatically takes you to the next line. Use “enter/return” only when you want to create a new paragraph.

We welcome new volunteers to contact us, or just drop by a meeting to see what we do. The team’s work includes the following components:

Newsletter: The editors provide a monthly email version of our UUCS newsletter, The Chalice and The Flame, to about 350 members and friends. We also print some copies to mail to our non-internet friends, and to have on hand at the visitors’ table. Past editions of the newsletter are accessible through the News tab on the home page of this website. Deadline: 8 pm on the Friday prior to the first Tuesday of each month.

The newsletter contains longer articles, and is not as event-driven as “This Week at UUCS”. It often offers more background and context. Regular columns by the minister and the DLRE, and occasional columns by other entities, such as Splinters from the UUCS Board, Social Justice, and News of the Community. Photos may appear as there is room, subject to the media privacy policy. Email address are OK here, but email group addresses are preferred. No personal phone numbers should be included here. Zoom registration links may be included, but not the actual Zoom meeting link.

Contact the newsletter staff at editors@uusalem.org.

“This Week at UUCS” is also provided by the editors, and is an emailed weekly summary of breaking news, as well as events and services that will occur in the next week. It is emailed to the Newsletter email list, friends and members of UUCS. No hard copies are distributed.

This publication includes shorter articles, which may have a link to a larger article on the UUCS website. It is event driven, with a focus on the service topic for the weekend. Reminders of upcoming events, and notification of important events further in the future, such as early sign-ups, annual meetings, and survey deadlines may be included. Photos are very rare in “This Week”. We can include personal email addresses but prefer email group addresses. No personal phone numbers are included. Zoom registration links may be included, but not the actual Zoom meeting link.

Deadline: is noon each Wednesday for publishing two days later on Friday. Reach the editors at editors@uusalem.org.

Website Web Support maintains this site, uusalem.org, to invite visitors and new members to our congregation, and to serve as a resource for congregants, staff and our teams and committees. Over 200 pages give an overview of our congregation, our beliefs, and our events. Pages are added as needed.

This serves a more public audience, and is available to anyone with internet access. No personal email addresses are to be used, only group email addresses , and no personal phone numbers. Zoom registration links may be included, but not the actual Zoom meeting link. Newsletters are available as links on the website under the News tab. There are no links to “This Week.”

Hot Topics on the website Is used for items we really want to call attention to for members and for non-members. It gives new readers a taste of the ongoing life of the congregation. When there is a lengthy document to which we wish to draw attention, we often post it on the website and point to the post on Hot Topics, and on other media.
Social Justice posts on the website are specifically for those related to UUCS SJ actions or UUCS affiliated ministries, or those we support.

You can reach web support at websupport@uusalem.org.

Facebook: Our general UUCS Facebook account is at Facebook.com/uusalem. . Our Facebook site promotes and reviews many events of our church community. It also provides inspirational posts highlighting a Unitarian Universalist point of view. The audience is more public and we consider it a cross between information and advertising for our congregation. It can be shared with anyone with internet access, and tends to end up a long way from our UUCS home. So, we protect the privacy of members. Photos are often used, subject to our media privacy policy. We include positive articles about our community, and our members (an award, a book signing, etc.) but nothing personal such as an accident. No personal email addresses are to be used, only group email addresses, and no personal phone numbers. Zoom registration links may be included, but not the actual Zoom meeting link. There are no links to “This Week” or the Newsletter.

Contact our Facebook administrators at facebook@uusalem.org.

The Lifespan Religious Education team has a closed Facebook account for families whose children attend our programs for children and youth. Contact the Director of Lifespan Religious Education, DLRE@uusalem.org for information.

Publicity. The Communications Team is the clearing house for external publicity for the congregation, as charged by the board. Teams or individuals wishing to publicize an event must request approval from the team. We are happy to create or help create and edit items for publicizing special events to which the public is invited. We can provide print ads, and flyers, (within our budget constraints) and coordinate with our inhouse print media, website, and Facebook team. Use the Publication Request form or contact us directly at publicity@uusalem.org.

UUCS list: In December 2020, we envisioned the UUCSLIST as our electronic bulletin board. You can use this email group to post such notices as: rooms for rent, rides to share or needed, a friend needing a place to stay, upcoming poetry readings, concerts, relevant community events, your new book — all those things that might go on a community bulletin board. But without any colorful Post-It notes! Around 100 people are on the list as this time and more are being added! You can add your name to the List, by using this form.

Other Projects: When staff and time allow, the Communications team works on video projects, photo projects, bulletin boards, mailing and survey projects, and other items that contribute to providing information to our members and friends.

Meetings: The Communications Team meets the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom at 5:30 pm. Holidays and summer months (July, August) may interrupt or change our scheduling. Check the UUCS Calendar to verify meeting times and dates.